There are many different methods currently in use to join materials to one another. With regard to thermoplastic materials, the materials are often joined to one another through the use of forces applied to the thermoplastic material that heat and consequently soften the thermoplastic materials due the properties of the material, enabling the components to be joined to one another.
In one example of a method or process of this type, vibrational/friction welding of plastic components is often utilized as a standard industrial process for joining thermoplastic materials. In frictional/vibrational welding, one component to be welded is vibrated against a static or stationary component, through which or as a force is applied against the components. The resulting friction created between the vibrating component and the stationary component in the friction welding process causes localized melting of the plastic from both components due to absorption of vibration energy, which is introduced across the joint to be welded. The melted areas of the components are continually pressed against one another during the vibration and can then join with one another, thereby forming the weld between the components.
The friction/vibration welding process works well for thermoplastic materials with the same or a similar chemical make-up by enabling the melded or melted areas of the components to form a chemical bond at the interface between the two materials.
However, the frictional welding process will not work with components formed of materials having overly dissimilar chemical make-ups/formulas, because they will not form a chemical bond at the interface of the melted portions of each component.
Thus, it is desirable to develop a frictional and/or vibrational welding method/process that can be utilized on components formed of materials that are chemically dissimilar from one another to form a weld between the components. The components can then be utilized in a number of different products, including improved separators for electrolyte flow batteries.